Destined for the Alpha's Embrace

The door barely cracked open before the scent of honey reached Ulric, causing him to abandon the papers he had been pretending to read for the past half hour. With a resigned shake of his head, he glanced up to see Greg hovering in the doorway, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You’re asking for trouble,” Ulric remarked, tapping his pen against the desk. Greg paused, attempting to feign innocence, but Ulric saw through the act. “What? Me? Trouble?” Greg gasped dramatically, pressing a hand to his chest. Ulric arched an eyebrow. “I can smell the honey from here. Don’t tell me you put another pot of honey in Truman’s room?” “I would never!” “Huh-uh? You know he’s going to kick your ass, right?” “Psh,” Greg snorted. He sauntered into the office and dropped into one of the vacant seats in front of Ulric’s desk. “He won’t know it was me.” Ulric highly doubted that. Unlike most of his pack members, Greg was human. He didn’t fully understand the abilities shifters held despite being with the pack for seven years, even since Ulric took over as alpha after his father’s tragic death. But even human, Greg should have known better, considering he was a police officer. “You need to stop poking the bear.” Greg grinned, not bothering to hold back his amusement. “Come on, Ulric, pooh bear won’t do anything to me.” Pooh bear. Ulric shook his head, biting back his own amusement. Greg was determined to use that nickname when referring to his enforcer. Regardless of the fact that Truman was neither orange nor round and soft. His enforcer was built firm like a brick wall, but that never deterred Greg from his stunts. Ulric pointed his pen at Greg. “I’m not holding him back when he decides to teach you a lesson. Now…” He waved his hand in the air impatiently. “Tell me what’s happening in town.” As he waited for his friend to talk, he picked up his earlier discarded hairband and restrained his shoulder-length brown hair away from his face, making a mental note he needed to trim it soon. If he found the time. This was their weekly routine. Every Friday, Greg drove to the pack house and gave Ulric a summary of the town’s activities. As Alpha of a pack so integrated into the human community, Ulric had made it his mandate to know what was happening in order to prevent disasters involving his pack. The Yellow Valley pack had over three hundred members and it was continuously increasing. But unlike other shifter packs, Ulric had a variety of members in his pack. Not only wolf shifters. It was a change he had made when he took over and it hadn’t sat well with other packs in the region, but he didn’t care. Ulric did what he thought was best for his pack and its members. The pack was family, regardless of what the individual was or where they came from. “It’s been relatively quiet,” Greg said, leaning back in his seat. He was still in his official uniform and was obviously headed back to the station as soon as he was done with Ulric. “Nothing of concern except for some rowdy wolves passing through town enjoying one too many bottles at the local clubs.” “Anything I need to look into?” Greg shook his head no. “I had Tate confirm for me that they are not Rogues. He thinks they are from the east, but couldn’t place them exactly without getting too close. We thought it was best to not start anything if they were just passing through.” Ulric frowned but nodded his agreement. “Just keep an eye on them and let me know if they stay longer than expected.” A group of unruly wolves in a town so close to a pack usually spelled trouble. Most humans were oblivious to the fact that they had paranormal species living among them. And even though Ulric had allowed Greg and a handful of other humans to know of their existence and be a part of the pack, he still preferred to keep the rest in the dark for their safety. “Anything else?” Ulric asked, his eyes already glaring down at the paperwork he would be forced to get back to as soon as Greg left. Not missing the disgruntled expression on Ulric’s face, Greg chuckled. “No. That’s it.” He jerked his chin at the desk covered with scattered papers. “I still don’t understand why you don’t just delegate all that paperwork to Ned or Truman.” A snort escaped Ulric at the idea of making his enforcers do the pack’s paperwork. “Are you trying to collapse all our businesses?” Laughing, Greg stood up and stretched his back like a lazy cat before turning for the door. “I’ll tell pooh bear you think he can’t handle a little paperwork,” he threw over his shoulder with a wide grin. “Tell him that right after you confess to leaving another pot of honey on his bed. That joke is getting old, by the way.” “That’s why I didn’t put it on his bed,” Greg responded, still chuckling. Ulric immediately raised his hand. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. Plausible deniability.” “As if,” Greg scoffed. He turned back and reached the door. But just as he grabbed the doorknob, he seemed to remember something and turned again to face Ulric. “Hey, Uhm… Ulric?” “Yeah?” Ulric looked up and immediately frowned. Greg suddenly appeared uneasy, the teasing smile was gone. The tall, lean man hunched his shoulders and rubbed a hand at the back of his neck. The scent in the office swiftly took on a touch of nervousness, which had Ulric’s wolf rise up within him in concern. A second later, his wolf’s natural instinct to comfort a pack member had his six foot two muscled body shooting up from his seat and rounding the desk before he asked. “What’s going on?” A beat passed. And then Greg exhaled and straightened his shoulders, seemingly composing himself. “I just wanted to find out what the program was for the run on Sunday. I mean… With it being… You know?” He couldn’t get the words out, but there was no need to. Ulric already knew what he was talking about the moment he mentioned the run. And the response within him had been instantaneous. If Greg had been a shifter, he would have known the large office now reeked of rage. But even as a human, it was obvious that the man could see how tense Ulric’s muscles got. A look of apology entered his eyes. But Greg wasn’t at fault. Ulric wasn’t pissed at him. No. The target of his anger was nowhere near him. Which was both a good thing and not. It took him a handful of seconds to bite down the boiling rage rising in him. When he did, he grabbed Greg’s shoulder and squeezed it gently to let the man know he wasn’t angry with him. “It’s okay,” he reaffirmed with words and waited for Greg to nod and then added, “We will run as planned.” He managed a chuckle and gently directed Greg back toward the door. “You better bring your good running shoes, too.” Greg laughed lightly, still looking a little uneasy but trying his best to follow his alpha’s lead and lighten the moment. “I always bring my best running shoes. You guys just have the advantage of four legs instead of two. It’s not fair play.” “Excuses,” Ulric quipped. He then jerked his chin toward the door. “Go on. Get out of here and get back to work before you get fired.” Greg snorted, but he waved and left. A minute later, Ulric heard the front door open and close. An engine roared to life outside the two-story stone house he called home a few minutes later. It wasn’t long before the car drove away and he knew Greg was gone. Only then did Ulric release the growl that had been building in his chest. It tore out of him and vibrated every window in the office. Ulric was certain anyone near the house had heard him, but he hoped they were wise enough to give him a little time alone. He just needed to collect himself before he faced anyone. “Damn it!” he hissed through clenched teeth. He could feel his fangs drop and his claws extend out of his fingers. His heartbeat accelerated, filling his ears with a heavy pulse. It was the same reaction he got every time he thought of his mother. It didn’t matter that so many years had passed. He couldn’t remember her scent or the sound of her voice and laughter. But the pain of her loss and the anger, those emotions stayed fresh, as though it had all happened just yesterday. A minute dragged by. Ulric shook his head. He drew a deep breath and released it slowly. “Witches,” he muttered under his breath. God, how he hated them.